Waste outpaces worship in Kedarnath

The Himalayan shrine generated more waste in 3 months of pilgrimage this year than entire 2022

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The amount of waste generated at Kedarnath in the first three months of the ongoing yatra season has already crossed the quantity of waste produced at the ecologically fragile site in 2022, with most of it dumped untreated near the base camp, official records show.

According to information provided by Nagar Panchayat Kedarnath in reply to an RTI application filed by environmentalist Amit Gupta, a total of 17.6 metric tonnes of garbage was generated at the Himalayan shrine between May and July 2025.

Of this, only 7.1 metric tonnes could be processed or recycled while the remaining 10.5 metric tonnes was dumped untreated.

The month-wise data shows that 8.4 metric tonnes of waste was generated in May, 5.6 metric tonnes in June and 3.6 metric tonnes in July.

Waste processing stood at 3.2 metric tonnes, 2.4 metric tonnes and 1.5 metric tonnes respectively during these months. The untreated waste was dumped at a newly created landfill site near the Kedarnath base camp, which has a capacity of 1,500 feet.